TGIF

1. Here is it already Friday(Hooray) and I have been trying all dang week to get this post done. In two days I should be doing another one....that being said...
2. I am REALLY not fond of the updates to this blog site. In the past I was able to easily, and quickly(!)download pictures from my phone straight to the blog. Not so much anymore. This post is definately going to suffer without the pictures. sorry.
3. Last Saturday was my darling niece Amelia's first birthday. **insert cute picture here** My SIL and BIL threw a great party and it is still pretty shocking that she has been around for a whole year.
4. On the way to my darling niece Amelia's first birthday party, my MIL and FIL were in a car accident. **insert tragic car picture here** Thankfully no one was hurt, but the car was totaled. The man that caused the accident didn't even say he was sorry. Who doesn't say "I'm sorry" for causing an accident that totals someone's car? jerk.
5. Our realtor talked us into having an Open House on Sunday. I will just d-i-e if no one comes. Someone, please come walk around our house, even if it is just to be nosey! but not in a creepy way.
6. I decided to cut off my loooonng hair. **insert picture of what I consider long hair** When I told Jane that I was getting my hair cut off she said "but moms have hair!" When I asked if I would still be her mom without hair, she said "No, you would be a dad!" Thankfully the hair is gone and back to my normal, and Jane didn't go to school saying she has two dads. (at least we haven't gotten any calls from the teachers yet) And note to anyone who reads this.....next time I mention thinking about growing my hair out, slap me. hard.
7. Tess has her fourth basketball practice with the competition team this week and came home gassed and on the verge of tears. This is her first experience with a fun little thing called CONDITIONING. The coach makes them run liners at the end of the practice and if they don't do it in the specified amount of time, he makes them run it again. The "Q" word crossed her mind, she admitted, but after we had a heart to heart discussion she decided to stick it out for the season. The best part was when she was describing the pain she felt while running and I realized she had no idea what exercising when you are out of shape feels like.....I described the pain in the legs, the burning in the lungs, the feeling like you might vomit....she looked at me like I was going to tell her she had some medical disorder, when I said "oh honey, that is called being out of shape! Now do you understand why mommy hates exercising so much? Because since I don't do it often enough, I feel like that almost every time I work out!" We shall see how she does with sports moving forward. It is so hard to explain to her(without scaring the crap out of her) that from now on the coaches don't coddle them and the conditioning gets harder. Hoping that our Samantha will have some words of wisdom for her about how to grow thicker skin and want something enough to handle adversity. Tough reality for 10 years old.
8. I went for my six month skin cancer check and had to have a biopsy off my back. good times. It does worry me that I was able to grow something new in six months, during the six months my skin sees no sun. yikes. Hopeful for good news.
9. Yesterday was Take Your Kid To Work Day. No, neither of my kids got to participate. Yes, I did get sad faces and the whiney "why can't you work somewhere that lets kids come visit?" speech. Sorry girls. Your parents choose health care, and your mother choose mental health care, which is the most protected of all health care information. Why can't they instead think I'm cool because of such restricted access?
10. Jane came home from preschool on Monday telling me she had a new laugh. I asked her to show me. She said "well, say something funny", so I did. She then laughed like this...HAHAHAHAHA...in the most abrasive harsh way, similar to a donkey braying loudly. I told her it was pretty good. She said thank you, in her cute little soft spoken way.

Manic Monday

1. We are averaging two showings a week on our house which is GREAT....but no one is buying it, which is BAD. Actually, it isn't bad, it is just frustrating. It has been on the market for a little over a month now, and it is crazy how negative the mind can get, and how fast it goes there. Good news is we have another showing tonight. Thank you Jesus.
2. The Royals are killing me. Last night was a great performance by the Royals and they lost on a difficult pitch from a great pitcher. The Cleveland series was disappointing, although it was nice to see my old boyfriend, Sandy Alomar Jr, on the coaching staff for the Indians. He looked good. I'm happy for him. C'mon Royals! Let's get some wins so this town will quit bitching! (We are only ten games into the season and already people are negative.....we are all weather fans in this house!)
3. We had Jane's parent teacher conferences last Friday. I did not get to attend but Andy did not bring home any bad news...at least that he was willing to share. He did send me a picture of one of her art pieces that she had titled "My Underwear". Classic Jane.
4. Kate started Tball this week. She is so darn cute out there. Cute and Bored! This kid would benefit from a faster paced game. She loves to hit, loves to field the ball, loves to be in the action. Unfortunatly, little girls 6U tball is sllooooowwww. I almost feel guilty for signing her up. Her gymnastics class sign ups are in May, can't wait to see her **shine** in that spotlight.
5. Tess got her retainer last week and it is huge. ginormous. really really big. Thankfully she only has to wear it at night and during the day when she is at home(which isn't often). I think we are going to be out some money in two years, because if she actually manages to lose this retainer it will be tragic.
6. I am so ready to buy flowers for my deck and yard. So ready. Must. Hold. Out.....till May.
7. Planning the summer calendar with all the camps, practices, games, lessons, and other activities is making my head numb.
8. Our Bailey graduates from high school in one month. ONE MONTH. Can't believe how fast time has gone, it seems like just yesterday she was a little 8 year old teaching Tess cheerleading in the front yard. good times.
9. Samantha Jean has her own blog now. The link is on my blog in the right hand column. She is a busy softball playing college girl, so not a lot of time to post...yet. We hope to get to see her play softball in a couple of weeks. Tragic that she has been at Drake this long and we have yet to make the trip up there.
10. I need a date with my husband. Even if it is just grocery shopping and drive through dinner afterwards....would still feel pretty special.

Opening Day at the K!

Let's Go Royals!

(clap, clap, clap clap clap)

Poem for Tess

Today begins the first day of MAP testing for Tess. The teachers asked parents to send notes of encouragement to the kiddos for them to read each morning before starting the exams. I am confident that my darling did not need a pep talk to get started, she is actually looking forward to several days of standardized tests.......I have to admit that I enjoyed these tests taking marathons myself when I was a student. Anyway, I had a few extra minutes at work one day(wink wink) and found myself creating a poem....I am no lyrical genius, this much is for sure, but I do love my daughter and can manage to rhyme a few words...like Tess and mess. Enjoy!

I have the most beautiful daughter named Tess
sometimes her closet is a mess
She has gorgeous brown eyes
and thick luscious hair
and long legs that reach to the skies

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

If you would like to hear a sound like an angel from above
just listen to her voice and you will fall in love.
If you want to be amazed at how much the brain can know
just ask her a question and she will put on quite a show.

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

Her laugh is melodic and her cry just breaks my heart
If you ever get the chance to meet her, you will love her right from the start!
Tess has it all! Of that you can be sure.....
Even though some days her fast talking leaves us all in a blur.

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

She is my JOY, she is my shining light.
She makes me smile, even on days when we fight.
It is no secret that she is my "mini-me"
though she soon will top my height of 5 foot 3.

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

I love to think of how far she will go in life
and I long to protect her from unpleasant strife.
But all I can do is pray to God above
that my amazing Brogan Tess is showered by His love.

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl?

So my dear sweet Tess, as you are taking this exam
remember that no matter what, your proud mother is who I am....
Please don't worry, don't fret, don't even lose any sleep
You are my oldest blessing and my love you can ALWAYS keep.

I love you!
Mom
Spring 2012

I heart Easter!

The older I get, the more I am realizing that Easter is surpassing Thanksgiving as my favorite holiday. Turkey day is great, but I think I liked the day because of the food, the family time, my birthday! and the day after shopping tradition......
Yesterday as I was sitting in church I was overcome by how happy I felt. My girls and I had a fun morning getting ready in their Easter finest, even letting me curl their hair! We went to church and everyone is smiling, dressed up, the church pews are full of people, we sang uplifting Easter hymns(Christ the Lord is Risen Today! Alleluia!)the sun was shining.....it just felt so JOYful. While I was listening to the church choir, of which all four of my parents plus my husband were a part of, I realized what this day really meant to me... this holiday is the very foundation of my Christian beliefs. Christ died for me. For ME. I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't have that knowledge and understanding....it makes Easter Sunday just any other Sunday of the year. How BOR-ING.

These are my Easter beauties....love Tess's banged up legs(which horrified her when she put on her dress and realized it wasn't long enough to cover her scrapes and bruises.) and Jane's pulled up hair with curls. All three girls had pedicures done by yours truly on Saturday to match their dresses. Jane has been waiting a month to wear that dress and only agreed to take it off to climb Aunt Pam's tree.

No, our Easter clothes are not new.....just recycled outfits, that amazingly still fit, from years gone by. Our love isn't new either, but thankfully, still fits us just fine too.

Hosanna!

Sorry for the blurry-ness of the pictures. It is hard to get a good shot when they are walking and energetically waving palm fronds! I love this holiday in the church...my girls love this holiday because they get a new outfit (in addition to their Easter dress)

What the ??? Wednesday

1. We had a great weekend outside.......
It seemed crazy to get the sprinkler and swimsuits out this weekend but the girls begged and since water is "free".....why not? We also washed the car which was super fun. I think more water got on them than on the car.

2. With this unseasonably warm weather came the need to turn on the AC. I know of many diehards that held out and are thankful for the cooler air this week. All I know is that the nights before we turned on the AC I slept like poop. The night after we turned on the AC was awesome. I imagine we will turn it back off eventually, or turn it up so it rarely comes on, because this record setting weather can't replace Spring!

3. This Sunday was one of my favorite holidays in the church. Palm Sunday! I love the music and I love the parade of kids marching through the church waving palm fronds. Why yes, I do have pictures of the girls doing this......thank you for asking. Will post later.

4. When it was rainy and dismal, our yard was all wonky looking, and our landscaping needed serious attention...we had two showings each week. Now that the weather is lovely, our yard looks like carpet, and our landscaping is full of gorgeous new plant life....nothing. Hopeful that it picks up soon. Keeping a house this clean is rough!

5.Tess is starting to play on a competitive basketball league this month. We went to watch the team play on Friday night in a tournament at William Jewell. The girls already on the team have been practicing for a while now and many have played at this level for several years. Holy cow. Tess was at the "top of the food chain" so to speak in KHRA and will go to being "food" in this league. We are excited for her to learn skills and discipline through this league..thankful she already has the hustle and competitive drive. Tess won't play in games until she gets some more practice time, but Andy has been working with her and she is praciticing skills on her own. We are making her dribble around the entire cul de sac and then up and down the street with Andy playing defense against her. I apologize to the neighbors ahead of time for the constant sound of a dribbling basketball...

6. KU lost in the championship game to a better team. period. They played like junk the first half and in true KU style, made it a better game in the second half. There was a fleeting second where I thought a miracle might happen....but then Elijah traveled before shooting(and making) a three pointer. That felt like a dagger to our chances. People were pretty nice at work about it, but I simply cannot stand people that have no clue about the game of basketball trying to critique it with me the next day. We both know the only reason they even knew the game was on was because it interrupted their regularly scheduled programming that night.

7. Three people won the Mega Millions lottery last week. Rest assured one of them was not me. I have been thinking about what I would do with the money though....but that sounds like a fun post for another day. This McMillions story about the McDonalds worker that bought the office pool ticket, and her own(winning)ticket, is making me laugh.

8. Third quarter grades were brought home last week and neither girl is flunking their respective grade. I have high hopes that Tess will get her second academic achievement award (for all As in all four quarters) but will keep my wishing to myself. She already puts more pressure on her shoulders than I ever could. I hate that and love that. There is a project at school due today that she has been worrying about for a week. Her group did not get the project to "work" so she fretted all weekend about her grade, only to learn that the final presentation could be about "why the project failed" if needed. This is the second time that her teacher has challenged her regarding a project that didn't result in success, one of which I suspect the teacher sabotaged Tess on purpose (which I am totally cool with in this case). So thankful that she worked through the problems, worked with her project group, and talked with her teacher about what some solutions could be.

9. Caught Jane singing "We goin' off the rails on a crazy train!" yesterday. this girl is so funny.

10. I posted on FB this weekend the picture below with the caption "I wish everyone could have a deck or patio like mine....pretty sure World Peace would soon follow". I also wish everyone could have comfortable wicker furniture like mine. It is an investment, but totally worth it.